Oh Wait, Now That We're Slower, Speed No Longer Matters...

from the it-all-depends-on-what-you're-good-at dept

Everything is relative, it seems. A year and a half ago, when the battle lines were really being drawn for cable modems vs. DSL in the US, the DSL players all started dropping their prices, while the cable guys believed that higher speeds would allow them to charge a premium. For the most part, that hasn't been the case. However, this situation gets more problematic now that the telcos are installing fiber, and are poised to leapfrog cable in the speed game. So, it should come as no surprise that suddenly cable is changing its tune. Broadband Reports notes that a cable company representative is now downplaying the importance of speed in an internet connection. No, this time, the important factor is the ever-ambiguous services. "We like to say that it's not just the speed, but what you can do with it." That's not what you were saying a year ago... Besides, how many people actually buy their broadband based on the "services" the provider offers?

No Subject Given

speed vs services

In my neck of the woods residential DSL is slower than cable modem by about a factor of 3.I still chose DSL. Why? Choice. With DSL, I get to choose my ISP from a list of several dozen local providers.With cable I get two choices: take it, or leave it.Speed really isn't everything.

The CableCos may have something after all...

I want my Internet Service Provider to provide a Big Fat Pipe -- never mind about the additional services like Web space, photo repository, even e-mail accounts. I get those somewhere else.

And the CableCos are right in that the big benefit isn't the speed: It's the persistent connection. As Mike noted in another article, when my kids ask why the sky is blue I just sit down at my always-on computer and ask Google. No POST, no dialup, no waiting. I don't care if Google responds at 300 kb/s, 1.5 Mb/s or faster. What I like is the instant, continuous access to a Big Fat Pipe (or even a Moderately Plump Pipe).